THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REVOLUTION

Source: Facebook

Guidara made a name for himself as the owner of world-renowned restaurant Eleven Madison Park, and wrote the bestselling book, Unreasonable Hospitality, detailing his pursuit of the title of number-one restaurant in the world.

DEFINING GREATNESS

In studying his competition for the top restaurant accolades, Guidara saw a lot of common ground—Michelin-starred cuisine, stunning settings, and high-end service. So how was he to distinguish 11 Madison Park from its worthy competitors?

Source: @elevenmadisonpark

It all came down to the guest experience. Guidara gathered his team, and together, they dissected their guest’s journey, identifying each touchpoint and how they could improve or differentiate from their competitors.

“I decided our impact would be unreasonable hospitality—but I realized I didn’t know what that meant,” he said.

So Guidara and his team began to figure out what unreasonable hospitality would look like at Eleven Madison Park.

With excruciating specificity, they went through every moment of the guest journey from when they booked the reservation to weeks after their visit, finding more than 100 different touchpoints.

“Then we had to figure out how to make each one a little more awesome,” Guidara said.

TRANSLATING IDEAS INTO ACTION

One area Guidara and his team honed in on was the check drop, which traditionally is not a warm, fuzzy moment for the guest.

“We elevated it,” he said. “We brought a full bottle of cognac with the check, poured them a splash and left the bottle for them to enjoy.”

It was rare for guests to drink more than the splash, but the impact of the restaurant’s generosity took the sting out of the price of the meal and felt like the warm hospitality a guest might receive at a private dinner party in a friend’s home.

So Guidara and his team continued to persevere. Then one day, he found himself with the opportunity to create an unforgettable experience in a highly unusual way.

Guidara overheard a table of guests from Europe discussing all the amazing restaurants they had experienced on their trip, culminating in their visit to 11 Madison Park. But the guests had missed out on one quintessential NYC experience—a hot dog from a New York street vendor.

Thinking quickly, Guidara ran out, purchased a “dirty water” hot dog, and brought it back to the restaurant’s kitchen. After convincing his chef to plate the hot dog, he presented it to the guests, who couldn’t have been more delighted if he had brought them a bottle of the restaurant’s finest champagne.

After that moment, Guidara gathered his team and began brainstorming on how they could keep creating memorable moments for every guest. A new position—Dreamweaver—was created to head up these initiatives, and eventually systems were put in place so every guest felt the “unreasonable hospitality” Guidara envisioned.

“We’re all in the business of serving other people,” he said. “ You give people comfort, confidence, and community. Hospitality gives people a sense of belonging and memories that will last a lifetime. It will also make your business more profitable and make you feel so, so good.”

DEFINING AND REVIVING YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE

Serious Business attendees who were inspired by Guidara and wanted to take a deeper dive into customer service were able attend a half-day workshop from the salon industry’s favorite customer service expert: John DiJulius.

DiJulius is founder and owner of John Roberts Spa, and Chief Revolution Officer at The DiJulius Group where he helps companies build world-class customer service.

Source: JohnDiJulius.com

“Since the pandemic, we’ve been in a customer service recession,” he said. “And we’ve hit a two-decade low in the American customer satisfaction index. Prices are up, but what we receive is down.”

If you haven’t taken action to combat poor customer service in your business, DiJulius outlined what you need to do and how to do it:

Identify your ideal customer: Do you know how to attract them? Are you looking for customers who are less concerned with price and more about finding a compelling experience that makes them feel better about themselves?

Create your customer experience action statement: This call to action defines what every employee should be striving to do every day. “At John Roberts Spa, ours is, ‘To be the best experience in our guest’s day.’”

How to execute: “World-class companies create a day in the life of a customer,” DiJulius said.

When your guest’s experience depends on which provider they see, you have an inconsistent service experience.

PREPPING YOUR PEOPLE

So how do you get everyone on the same page?

“The number-one thing CEOs and owners get wrong with the customer experience is they think it’s innate/common sense to their employees,” DiJulius said.

But, DiJulius added, all employees have a service aptitude, which is their ability to recognize opportunities to meet and exceed customer expectations, regardless of the circumstances.

“Service aptitude comes from three places: previous life experiences, previous work experiences and current work experiences,” he says.

When training a new customer-facing employee, how much time are you devoting to operational skills and what percentage of training hours are devoted to building a rapport?

“In most businesses, it’s 99 percent operational/technical and less than one percent is soft skills,” DiJulius says. “Training doesn’t have to be 50/50, but you must teach soft skills and test on them.”

He adds, “It’s not your employee’s responsibility to have a high service aptitude. It’s the company’s job to give it to them.”

TAKING ACTION

When companies start making customer service a key part of their new-employee training, DiJulius says brand loyalty will make price irrelevant, citing brands like Starbucks and the Ritz Carlton as examples.

Ready to start your company’s customer service revolution? DiJulius recommends asking yourself these three questions:

1. After coming into contact with you, how do you want your customer to feel
   emotionally every time?
2. How do you want customers to describe their interaction with you?
3. What would it take for you to be the best moment in your customer’s day?

“Make price and location irrelevant,” DiJulius says. “Have them drive past three or four other salons to get to you. You are the brand they can’t live without.”

Interested in working with DiJulius and learning more about the customer service revolution? Click here. You can also pre-order his latest book, The Employee Experience Revolution here. If you’re an Aveda salon (or are interested in becoming one) and want to deliver extraordinary customer service, click here to learn more about using the Aveda 10-step customer service wheel.